The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority and the town of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, have reached an agreement to resolve a dispute over how the Incline Railway should be fairly operated.
CARTA, the city’s public transit agency, owns the Incline and relies on revenue from the attraction to fund its other services. The agency had set aside $300,000 to challenge an ordinance being considered by Lookout Mountain commissioners that would have placed a new fee on tickets, along with restrictions on the Incline’s passengers and operating hours.
The pair avoided a legal fight with an agreement that includes a new public safety fee and limitations on daily passengers and operating hours for the 130-year-old funicular railway. They announced the agreement on Wednesday, saying it went into effect Tuesday.
(READ MORE: ‘You can leave’: CARTA fires conductor for rude announcement on Incline Railway)
The town agreed not to pass the ordinance under the terms of the agreement. Commissioners had passed the ordinance on a first reading, but not a second reading needed for it to go into effect.